National dwelling values were stable in November, with a 0.1% drop in combined capital city dwelling values offsetting a 0.2% rise across the combined regional markets, according to CoreLogic’s November Hedonic Home Value Index results.
There was very little change in growth conditions from October, when the combined capital cities and combined regional areas of Australia saw flat growth.
Sydney had the biggest drop over the month (-0.7%), while a drop of 0.4% was noted in Darwin and regional Northern Territory over the same period. “For the remaining broad regions of Australia, dwelling values were relatively steady, or experienced a subtle rise, over the month,” CoreLogic said.
Over the quarter, national dwelling values tracked 0.2% higher, and have increased by 5.2% over the 12 months ending in November. “The national annual growth rate has now halved since reaching a recent peak in May 2017, when dwelling values rose 10.4%.”
Sydney softens and Perth regains its footing
After nearly a year and a half of growth, property prices began dropping in Sydney in September. “The Sydney housing market moved through a recent peak in July 2017 and dwelling values have been trending lower each month since that time,” CoreLogic said.
“Dwelling values were down 0.7% in November to be 1.3% lower relative to the market peak. Sydney’s 1.3% fall over the past three months is the greatest decline over a three month period since March 2016. While the rate of value decline in Sydney has gathered some momentum, it remains extremely modest.”
The Perth property market, on the other hand, may have finally bottomed out, with dwelling values across the city edging higher over each of the past three months to record the first rolling quarterly captain gain since late 2014.
“The three months to November saw Perth dwelling values rise by 0.3%. In addition to values moving off their low base, settled sales are rising (+3.8% year on year), homes are selling faster (59 days compared with 68 days a year ago) and advertised stock levels have reduced substantially (-12.7% compared with last year),” CoreLogic said.
CoreLogic’s latest findings on the Perth property market correlate with those from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA).
According to Hayden Groves, president of REIWA, Perth has seen six months of stable conditions, with both the June and September quarters posting consistent results. “Historically, before a market improves there is a sustained period of level stock, sales activity and house prices, which is what we appear to be witnessing at the moment,” he said.
Significant growth was noted in Perth’s median house price and median unit price, and other key market indicators.
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